Paul the Apostle

Saint Paul the Apostle (5-64) was an apostle of the early Christian church. Originally known as Saul of Tarsus, he was once involved in the persecution of Christians, but he later converted after seeing a resurrected Jesus near Antioch, and he was martyred in 64.

Biography
Saul of Tarsus was born to a devout Jewish family in Tarsus, Cilicia in 5 AD, and he belonged to the Pharisees. He was educated in Jerusalem, and he took an active part in the 34 AD stoning of Saint Stephen, the first martyr of Christianity. He persecuted other disciples in the Jerusalem area until, while traveling on the Jerusalem-Damascus road, he had a vision of Jesus, who blinded him for three days. After his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus, he preached that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God, and he went on to found several churches in Asia Minor and Europe from the mid-30s to the mid-50s AD. After seven days in Jerusalem in 57 AD, he was accused of blasphemy for bringing gentiles into the Temple, and he was arrested by Roman soldiers. He was imprisoned in Caesarea Maritima for two years, and he sailed to Rome to stand trial. He arrived in 60 AD, and he spent two more years under house arrest. In 64 AD, following the Great Fire of Rome, Emperor Nero blamed the Christians for it and had Paul decapitated. His head was said to have rebounded three times, giving source to a water fountain each time it touched the ground.